Light to my Darkness
by DragonClan
Summary: Modern Day. Peeta is a depressed teen keeping up a facade of happiness. Katniss is a curious girl with a crush on Peeta. When they are paired up for a project, will Katniss find out the truth behind Peeta? And if she does will she run away, or will she stay and help him?
1. Introductions

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, Suzanna Collins does.**

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**Ch: 1 Introductions**

Peeta Mellark is in high school keeping up a false identity of happiness. Everyone thinks that he has a great life with no troubles or problems. That's nowhere close to being true. He is going through depression.

It all started when he was ten. Peeta had lost his brothers and father in a car wreck. They were coming back from his baseball game. His team had won the tournament. His dad was driving the car, and his brothers were patting him on the back and congratulating him. They were at a red light when a drunk driver hit them. Peeta got out with a few scars and bruises, but his father had died on impact and his brothers died in the hospital a few days later. Peeta's mom has blamed him ever since. Since they died, his mother has abused him and had Peeta think that he was the reason they died, not the drunk driver. Because of the abuse that he went through, Peeta doesn't trust anyone as well as he used to. He's had nightmares every night about the crash and stopped sleeping because of it. He has marks on my wrists as reminders of the depression and guilt of their deaths and makes a new one for each one of them on the day of their deaths. He wears long sleeves or jackets to hide the cuts. He needs help, but he won't ask anyone for it.

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Katniss Everdeen is a curious girl who has a crush on Peeta. She wants to know more about him. Katniss notices that there is a hidden pain behind all of the smiles and laughs, and she wants to know why it is there. Katniss has always been too curious for her own good. She knows about things that she shouldn't know. Katniss has ways of finding out about things, but this time, she may regret finding out about the secret behind Peeta Mellark. The question is what will she do when she knows. Will she help him get through it, or will she leave him alone? Only time will tell.

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**Let me know what you think about it - DragonClan.**


	2. Partners

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does.**

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**Ch: 2 Partners**

**Peeta's POV:**

I woke up to my alarm. _Another amazing day in the life of me. _I thought sarcastically. I got up and went to my bathroom. I opened the cabinet under my sink and took out my razor. _One for each of them: my dad, Rye, and Wheat. _It was December 10th. Three cuts on each wrist. I now had a total of 36 cuts, 18 on each wrist. I took out some gauze and wrapped it around my wrist. After I brushed my teeth, I got dressed in a pair of black jeans, a blue t-shirt, and my black hoodie to cover my scars. When I was dressed, I left my house and walked to school.

I was at my locker getting my books out for Math and Biology when my friends came over to me. "Hey Peeta." I put on my fake smile and turned around to see my friends Marvel, Cato, and Gale along with their girlfriends Glimmer, Clove, and Madge. "Hey guys. What's up?" I got a couple of _nothing much_ and _everything's fine._ "So Peeta, are you coming to the football game," Gale asked._ I really wanted to go to the game, but I doubt that my mom would let me go. She barely lets me leave the house. _I thought bitterly. "I can't. I have to work." I lied. I didn't want them to know about my mom."But Peeta, you have to go. It's the state championship," Madge begged, "I'm surprised that we made it to state since our team sucks." "Yeah Peeta, this may be the only time that our team may make it to state," Clove added. Glimmer, Clove, and Madge all gave me the puppy eyes. I was going to regret saying this, but I wanted them to stop. "Alright, alright, I'll go just stop it with the puppy eyes." _Now I just have to find out how to sneak out of the house without mom finding out. _The bell rang; letting us know that class would start soon. "See y'all at lunch." "Bye Peeta. See you then." We headed off to our classes.

**Katniss's POV:**

I woke up to my little sister jumping up and down on me. "Katniss, wake up or we're gonna be late to school." "Alright, I'm up; I'm up." I got dressed and ready for school. I went downstairs to eat breakfast. "Good morning mom." When I sat down at the table, my mom placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. "Good morning sweetheart. Eat up. You and Prim have to leave in ten minutes." "Okay mom." We quickly ate our food and got in my car. When we got to school, I told Prim that I would meet her in front of the school so we could go home. "See ya later Prim." "Bye Katniss. See you after school."

I went to my locker to meet up with my best friend Johanna. "Hey brainless, what took you so long?" "I had to drop off my sister. Calm down Johanna." I told her as I was getting my books for Biology and History. I barely closed my locker when Jo started dragging me to homeroom. "Jo, slow down. Why are you in such a hurry?!" "I want to sit in the back." I rolled my eyes at Johanna. When we got to Biology, Johanna rushed me into the back corner of the classroom. "Come on, brainless. I don't have all day." "Well, I could go faster if you stopped pushing me." Johanna just ignored me and kept pushing me until we got to the back. "There I stopped pushing you." "I wanted you to stop pushing me earlier." "Too late for that brainless." We sat down, waiting for class to start. "So are you finally going to ask him out?" "What are you crazy? You know I can't." "Well, why not? I know that you've had a crush on him since 1st grade." "You know why Jo." I was about to say more when _he _walked into the room. The guy that I've had a crush on since 1st grade, Peeta Mellark. I've never actually talked to him before, but I know a lot about him. I know that his favorite color is sunset orange. He likes to bake, play guitar, and is an amazing artist. His birthday is June 26. He double knots his shoelaces. He works at the local bakery. He's also never had a girlfriend yet. I'm not a stalker, just a really curious girl.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Jo snapped her fingers in front of my face. "I know that you don't have a brain, brainless; but I didn't think your head would be _that_ empty." I swatted her hand away. "I was thinking Jo. I _do _have a brain up here, despite what you think." "Well I don't care what you think. Now pay attention class is starting." Right when she said that, our teacher walked in. I sat forward trying to pay attention to what our teacher was saying, but I kept thinking about Peeta and if I would ever be able to ask him out.

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**(Last Period of School)**

**Peeta's POV:**

I was heading to art class. Art was the only thing I actually looked forward to in school. I was drawing the sun setting over the ocean in my sketch book. I was almost done with the sketch when I ran into someone. "Ow!" "Oh shit. I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention." "Don't worry I'm all right." She looked up at me, and I saw what she looked like. She had grey eyes, dark hair, and a slender build. She was wearing a forest green t-shirt, jeans, and converse. I held my hand out for her to take. She took it. "Thanks." "You're welcome…" I trailed off, hoping that she would fill in her name. "Katniss, Katniss Everdeen." "Yeah, sorry for running into you," I apologized again. "No, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention," she said. I swear I saw her cheeks redden a little bit. I wonder why. "If that's the case, then it's my fault, too. I was sketching a picture." "What class are you going to." "Art with Effie Trinket. What about you?" "Same as you." "That's cool. I didn't know that you were in my class." "That's alright. I usually sit in the back." "So do you want to walk to class together?" "That's fine Peeta."

We walked to Effie Trinket's class in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a comfortable silence. It was nice. When we got to Ms. Trinket's class, I sat down in the front; while Katniss sat in the back. After everyone got to class Ms. Trinket started the class. Effie Trinket was a really peppy lady in her mid-thirty's who was obsessed with manners. She wore a different colored wig every week over her white hair. Whenever something setback anything on her schedule, she freaks. It's pretty funny actually. She also says, "We have a big, big, big day." Every day.

"We have a big, big, big day." The whole class groaned in response. "We are going to do a project with partners. I have already picked out your partners, so don't bother picking ." The class let out another groan. She started reading through the list of names. I zoned out until I heard my name. "Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen."

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**Sorry for not updating, I've been having some writer's block. Let me know what you think about the chapter - DragonClan**


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